Hope Powell says her squad are in great condition as they prepare for the new Women’s Super League season.
A week’s training camp at St George’s Park, which ended with a behind closed doors friendly against Leicester City on Friday, demonstrated to the head coach how well her players worked when they weren’t able to train properly during the Covid-19 lockdown. Inessa Kargman and Fliss Gibbons scored in a 2-2 draw against the Foxes.
Powell said, “I would say, and having spoken to other members of our staff, that they have come back in better physical condition having had the break.
“The training has been really hard but they’ve been able to go again the next day and that tells me that their fitness levels have pushed on from last year. The demands of the league are ferocious, you can’t stand still and the girls have embraced that.”
Powell said the squad have benefitted from the excellent facilities at the National Football Centre.
“It’s worked really well, it’s been nice to change the environment as much as anything else,” she added. “The facilities at St George’s Park are second to none so it has really raised standards – the girls really appreciate what we’re trying to do and how we want to work.
“It’s been the first week we have been able to get everyone in the same room for squad meetings, because we haven’t been able to at the Amex. The days and evenings have been full-on and the group are tired as a result, but their attitude has been exemplary.”
The training camp also given Powell the chance to take a better look at her new signings – Nora Heroum, Inessa Kargman, Lee Geum-min, Katie Robinson and Katie Startup – and she believes they have added more quality to the squad.
“From the moment they arrived – this is our fourth week of pre-season – they have fitted really well into the group,” said Powell. “They’ve added a bit more quality in the areas we needed.”
Albion kick off their WSL campaign at home to Birmingham City on the weekend of September 5-6.